Omega Manual chapter 44
Happy Birthday
“What’s wrong?”
In the moment when Irey’s gaze met Shelley’s, he quickly lowered his head, concealing his expression.
“Nothing.” His voice was barely audible, drowned out by the clinking sounds of Irey hammering the chair.
He hammered in the second nail, then turned the chair over and placed it on the floor.
“Done.” Irey pressed a few times on the chair back with his hand. The chair was steady, without any wobbling. “Even if someone sits on it now, it won’t wobble at all. Want to try?”
Shelley didn’t go over, but gently closed the book on his knee and stood up from the sofa.
His expression was somewhat awkward, like a primary school student preparing to give a speech, clearing his throat. “Irey, I want to show you something.”
Irey raised his eyebrows as he lifted his head from the chair. “So mysterious. What are you going to show, a glow-in-the-dark watch?”
This time, Shelley ignored his jest and picked up his phone from the sofa. The faint light of the LCD screen illuminated a small area of the air.
The flames in the fireplace danced merrily, casting their shadows on the opposite wall, rising and falling.
“Irey, do you know about Void Projection Technology?”
This question was sudden and quite abrupt, leaving Irey utterly perplexed.
“Huh? Are you talking about the new technology your family’s tech company developed five years ago?”
“Yeah,” Shelley responded. “Do you know what Void Projection can do?”
“It can project void… and then project?” Irey tentatively answered.
This answer made Shelley laugh. Just as he expected, Irey Halton, lacking basic knowledge in the field of high technology, had no concept of it.
“Void Projection can generate three-dimensional holographic images in the air without relying on any display screens or reflective surfaces, adjusting the shape and color difference of the display according to the surrounding environment, achieving a 99.93% similarity to visible objects to the human eye, and supporting tactile interaction,” Shelley said. “It’s like a high-definition, high-fidelity immersive VR experience, but without the need for helmets, glasses, or any wearable devices, just visible to the naked eye.”
Irey listened to this long string of technical terms, frowning in confusion. After a while, he asked, “What’s VR?”
Shelley smiled. He didn’t intend to make Irey understand such a profound thing with just a few words. He simply lowered his head and operated his phone a few times, then placed it on the fireplace, and a faint, blue light emanated from a small hole on its top.
“It’s okay, you’ll understand once you see it.” Shelley’s eyelids drooped slightly, his tone calm. “The Meteor Shower occurred on the night of the Void Projection Technology conference, burying this technology along with that disaster. Now, my phone is the only carrier of this technology in the world.”
Before Irey could say anything, he saw a girl appear in front of him.
There were no flashes of blue or green light commonly seen in science fiction movies, and the phone did not emit any audible prompts.
A young girl with long black hair, a few freckles on her cheeks, and wearing a large, dirty sports jacket appeared silently and unexpectedly, as if she had just walked over while he wasn’t paying attention.
She reached just to Irey’s chest, with a bright and generous smile, her heavy backpack causing her shoulders to slump slightly, and a dark gray pencil stain on her nose.
This scene was so natural, so calm, as calm as every nightfall when she would come back from school as usual.
“Caroline?” Irey called softly, unable to resist reaching out to touch the girl in front of him.
Of course, his fingers passed through the girl’s hair.
Although the girl in front of him was so real, identical to his memories, she was ultimately just a virtual image.
But after this touch, the girl suddenly burst into a brilliant smile. “Ge, did I startle you? Now there are two of me standing beside you, right?”
Irey didn’t say anything, waiting quietly.
“Don’t be afraid, this me is fake, just a holographic projection. My classmate got the beta test qualification for MantaTech’s new technology, and after some persuasion, she finally agreed to let me record with her! So when Manta releases the new technology next year, you can see the video I recorded in advance!” Caroline winked playfully, making a face. “So, do you like the new phone I got you? I bet you’re completely bewildered right now, staring at a bunch of functions not knowing what to do. After all, you’ve never used a smartphone before, old-fashioned as you are.”
Caroline chuckled for a while as she spoke, “Ge, you’ve always been frugal, giving all the money you earn to Mom and me. You even use my old discarded phone. But this time, no matter what, I’m going to save up to buy you the best and most advanced phone! Every winter, you celebrate my birthday, but this time it’s my turn to celebrate yours. Let’s just say our birthdays are on the same day!”
Finishing this long speech like a rapid-fire cannon, Caroline dashed off to the side. Her figure passed by Irey’s shoulder, and he slightly leaned aside to give her way, his gaze always following her.
“Mom, Mom! It’s almost time, quickly say a few words to brother!”
A gentle and calm voice came from off-camera.
“What’s there to say when we meet every day, just say a few words and be done with it.”
“No, no, this opportunity is special, just wish him a happy birthday! Come on, come on, quickly!”
A woman with a soft and gentle demeanor, her hair braided in flaxen braids, sat in a wheelchair pushed into the frame by Caroline. Her expression seemed awkward, as if unsure how to face this situation.
“Let’s count to three, and we’ll say it together.” Caroline smiled, “Three, two, one, Happy birthday, Irey—”
The footage abruptly cut off here.
The girl, the woman, both vanished into thin air, just like they appeared, silently, without any warning.
The flames in the fireplace crackled on, the clock on the wall ticked faintly but precisely, the wind continued to blow, snow continued to swirl, and the windows made faint tapping sounds as they were battered by the wind.
Suddenly, the world became very quiet, Irey’s breath audible in the silence. Shelley looked at him and gently exhaled a breath.
“After the meteor shower, Manta’s database suffered quite a bit of damage. I didn’t have much hope, but unexpectedly, I found it. However, the ending part, with the tools I have now, I can’t determine if it wasn’t recorded or if the data is damaged. This is the best I could do.” Shelley said softly, “Happy birthday, Irey Halton.”
There were four or five seconds of silence, during which Irey didn’t say anything. Just as Shelley was beginning to doubt whether he had messed up somewhere, Irey suddenly took two steps forward and tightly hugged him.
Shelley was caught off guard by this sudden embrace, not knowing where to put his hands and feet. But Irey didn’t mind, he just hugged him tightly, not letting go even if it hurt.
Warmth slowly spread through the contact points, and Shelley heard Irey’s ragged breathing in her ear.
“Thank you, boss,” he choked, his voice low.
Shelley stood still, not knowing what to say for a moment, so he just reached out and patted his back twice.
Irey didn’t understand all this high-tech stuff, didn’t know how the lifelike projection was achieved, or how Shelley managed to recover the footage from six years ago with his phone.
But even he could imagine that it must have been a very difficult and needle-in-a-haystack job.
When did Shelley start searching for him in the vast database, he couldn’t imagine.
During the snowball fight? Before coming to Duhaat? In Leisau? Or at the beginning of the journey, when he talked about his mother and sister?
Was it because of this that he lost track of time in the bathroom?
Just for a piece of footage that may not even exist.
Irey couldn’t imagine.
“It’s just restoring a piece of footage that was already recorded, nothing special.” Shelley said softly, “If your sister hadn’t recorded this footage, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. It’s all because you have a sister who loves you very much, and a mother who loves you very much.”
Because his sister wanted to save money to buy him a new phone, his mother was willing to accompany his sister to the faraway company to record the image, even though she was physically disabled.
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Irey’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “They’ve been dead for five years. The one who made the miracle and brought them back to me is you.”
Shelley’s eyes suddenly felt a little sore, and he immediately lowered his head, struggling a bit in Irey’s embrace, “Have you hugged enough? It’s late, I’m tired, if you want to stay up, do it yourself, I’m going to sleep.”
Irey let go of the hug, and Shelley quickly adjusted his collar, walking towards the stairs with his back to Irey.
But halfway there, he was suddenly called back by the person behind him.
“Shelley,” Irey called out, “Do you want to sleep together?”